Marquette University announced Thursday that scholar and pollster Charles Franklin will join the school's staff full-time.

Franklin, who has served as a visiting professor at the Marquette University Law School since 2012, will now become a professor of law and public policy.

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"For 10 years or more, I've really wanted to find a way to talk about public policy issues and politics throughout the southern part of the state," he said. "The Madison/Milwaukee divide is a pretty big one. I think this gives us a way for me to talk and for the law school to participate in that bigger dialogue."

"Professor Franklin’s appointment is one of the first steps in implementing the university’s strategic plan," said university president Rev. Scott Pilarz. "The Marquette Law School Poll, like the Law School’s public policy initiative more generally, has prompted us to reach beyond traditional academic boundaries, to embrace new and collaborative methods of research and service, and to help drive the conversation on important questions affecting the region, state and nation."

Franklin led the Marquette Law School Poll during the very active 2012 Wisconsin election cycle. It was billed as the largest independent polling project in state history.

He will continue in his current role as poll director for the university.

"Marquette Law School has created a unique opportunity to contribute to the public conversation about issues facing our state and nation through both the polling and policy discussions it convenes," said Franklin. "I look forward to collaborating with colleagues across the university to educate the next generation of leaders and to ensure that Marquette is a resource for the region."

Franklin had been a political science professor at the University of Wisconsin since 1992. He also co-founded the website pollster.com.